6 Things To Do When Visiting Tobermory, Ontario (Canada)

Tobermory is a small community that is located on the northern tip of the Bruce Peninsula, off of Georgian Bay/Lake Huron. The “downtown” area is known as Little Cove and features a harbour as well as some shops and places to eat. Especially great for fish and chips! The harbour in itself is pretty picturesque with a boardwalk that wraps around one side of the harbour. This is the heart of Tobermory and features some great spots for food, coffee, one of a kind shops, and even a local library and LCBO (liquor store).

1. The Coffee Shop (#butfirstcoffee)
Before venturing off to explore the island I’m sure you’ll want to start your day off with coffee or tea. The Coffee Shop has coffee, tea, bagels and light snacks. The cafe offers seating inside as well as seating outside overlooking the marina. While they have many selections, our go to coffee is always ‘Coffee Crunch’.

2. Flowerpot Island (Sightseeing)
Now that you’re hyped up on coffee and ready to do some exploring, the main attraction of Tobermory is Flowerpot Island. Tickets are purchased on the mainland with an option to choose the Glass Bottom tour. The Glass Bottom tour will still take you to Flowerpot Island but with the scenic tour highlighting old shipwrecks. However, if you’re a seasoned veteran like us you can opt for the ‘express’ boats to bypass the tour taking you directly to Flowerpot Island.

3. The Fish and Chip Place (Food)
While there are quite a few different places for fish and chips in Tobermory, this place is hands down our favourite. To be honest, it is the reason we keep roadtrippin’ up that way. Just to give us another excuse to eat there again. This is by far the best fish and chips I have had anywhere, and believe me I’m always trying to find something comparable to here that isn’t 300 km’s out! They pretty much serve just fish and chips and fish tacos, and they get their fish straight out of the Georgian Bay. Yummy!

4. Beavertails (Dessert)
I cannot even explain to you how good these things are! Beaver tails are essentially a piece of deep-fried pastry in the shape of a beaver tail with different flavour options. Think cinnamon & sugar, chocolate hazelnut, maple, chocolate banana, and the list goes on an on.

There are also Beaver Bites where the pastry is in smaller shaped balls, served with ice cream and your choice of topping. I tend to prefer these just because the Beavertails can get a bit messy. But it’s a good sweet sticky sort of mess tho!

5. Shopping
There are quite a few different shops in Tobermory, so I am only mentioning my two favourite shops.

A Mermaid’s Secret Boutique – The name alone sounds pretty inviting! They sell one of a kind spirited fashions, funky tye dyes, and local Native wood carvings. They also have hand made leather clothing and Native made moccasins (I bought a pair there last year and I love ’em).

Marco Polo Trading Company – Also has one of a kind pieces, as well as moccasins and other gifts.

6. Bruce Peninsula National Park (Hiking)
About 20 mins south of Tobermory, on the way home is the Bruce Peninsula National Park. This is the place to stop at if you’re into exploring and hiking. There are many beautiful sights to see here but they all require a little bit of a hike to get to. Totally worth it though I promise! Highlights here are: Indian Cove and The Grotto.

xo